


It's the little things that make you fall in love

by Root (Fyki)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Liam is a history nerd, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Liam, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-04 02:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12761199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fyki/pseuds/Root
Summary: Liam stopped, suddenly unable to do anything that wasn't thinking about the fact that Theo,Theo, had just invited him to go to a museum. Because Ii was a thing spending hours talking about history and listening to Liam talking passionately about stuff that Theo probably didn't even know, but it was a completely different thing to invite him to go to an exhibit of Greek and Roman history, knowing that it was the best way to reach Liam's heart. Not that Theo didn't already reached it, obviously, but that wasn't the point. Because the way Theo had talked, the way he had acted, with the slight doubt in his voice, it had felt so much like the way you ask someone out that Liam was completely taken aback.Calm down, Liam, of course he didn't mean it like that, he told himself, and his stomach tied in a painful grip.





	It's the little things that make you fall in love

**Author's Note:**

> This is the translation of the fic I posted in italian a few days ago. Of course english isn't my first language, so if there are any errors (and there are probably a lot of them lol) please let me know.  
> I hope you enjoy <3

They say it's the little things that really make you fall in love, but Liam never actually understood what that meant. The first person he had been in love with -or at least he had thought he was - was Hayden, and with her there never were the little things. With Hayden it had been intense from the very beginning and Liam hadn't even realized he felt something for her until those feelings didn't strike him, conquered him and almost completely took over his life. It hadn't been the little things that made him understand how he really felt, it had been the terrible and impending danger they were in, about to lose their lives, about to lose everything. Suddenly, Liam couldn't think of a life without her; suddenly, Liam was in love for the first time in his life.

  
They also say it's the little things that make you fall in love a little more every day, and Liam never really understood that either, not while he was with Hayden. Liam looked at her, looked at the way her eyes shone when she smiled, the way she frowned when she was nervous or focused on something, the way she always gave everything she had; Liam looked at her and thought that he couldn't love her more. He had fallen for her suddenly, a love that was intense and overwhelming, but not a love that grew every day, not a love that made him feel like he was falling in love a little more with Hayden every time he looked at her.

  
With Hayden there was only the big and intense picture, the constant danger behind them and pressing need to keep each other safe. When all this came to pass, it was like even what they felt for each other became more faint, dull.

  
No, Liam never understood what the romantic meant with "little things". At least, not until he hadn't fallen in love again.

  
With Theo, it was completely different. Liam couldn't tell exactly when it had happened; it had been gradual, a slow and constant growth of the feeling he had for him. With Theo, Liam focused on the little things, because looking at the whole picture left him confused and destabilized, unable to decide if whatever he felt for the chimera was right. Because Theo was the enemy, he was the one who had infiltrated in his pack and tried to destroy it, he had driven Liam to attack his own Alpha, he was the one who had killed Scott; Theo was the guy that they had sent to hell, and since he had come back he didn't do anything but help them even though he could have easily ran away from Beacon Hills and left them; Theo was the guy Liam had fought side by side with more than once, the guy that had saved his life and helped him when no one else could; Theo was the guy that had felt compassion for a boy that had just tried to kill them, and was able to take away his pain to let him die in peace.

  
There was a lot, too much, in Theo and his story, and if Liam tried to stop and think about it he just felt incredibly confused. Theo was an enemy and an ally, he was someone they could trust and he was a friend. Liam couldn't look at the whole complicated picture, so he just focused on the little things.

  
Like the fact that, even though it had been moths since Theo had started living at Liam's house, he always acted like he was still a guest, asking permission for everything and helping Liam's mother with the house chores; there was always a satisfied smile on his lips when he did that, when Mrs. Geyer warmly thanked him. In those moments, Theo lowered his eyes, and often his heart skipped a beat, like he couldn't believe that there really existed someone that could be grateful for his presence.

  
Since the first time Liam had noticed it, he started paying more attention, focusing in Theo's heartbeat, listening to that rhythm that was almost always calm and steady. He had found himself more times than he liked to admit so lost in that sound that he forgot the rest of the world; subconsciously, he synchronized his own heartbeat with Theo's and let their hearts beat as one. Somehow doing that always helped him calm down.  
Liam observed Theo; not the chimera, but the real Theo, the boy with whom he spent most of his time, the boy of whom Liam wanted to learn every little thing. He liked observing him, he liked noticing the little things.

  
_It's the little things that really makes you fall in love._

  
Liam was starting to understand what that meant, because every single time he looked at Theo, every single time he noticed something new about him, he felt his heart doing a flip and his stomach tied in knots in a way that was almost painful.

  
He couldn't tell when he had started feeling like this, maybe in the exact moment his eyes had met Theo for the first time, maybe when he had seen him again - so afraid and petrified but still ready to fight - after he had brought him back from hell; maybe it had all started when Theo had saved his life for the first time, sacrificing himself. Maybe, Liam thought, it had all started when Theo had smiled at him for the very first time, a honest smile that was able to completely overthrow everything Liam had thought about him until that moment.

  
Even now that Theo's smiles weren't so rare anymore, Liam found himself falling in love with him a little more every time he saw them; not just when they were for him, but always.

  
Liam fell in love with Theo a little more every time the chimera listened to him when he started talking about history, even when he was ranting about stuff that he only cared about. But Theo listened to him, really listened, he stopped and watched with him history documentaries and, at some point, he had started not only listening but also talking back. Now, they could go on and talk for hours, and neither of them would notice the passing of time. They often did end up arguing, but even in those moments, Liam felt himself falling a little bit more in love with Theo.

  
Even now, while he looked at him, laying on the bed, earphones on and phone in hand, Liam felt the feelings he had for him grow bigger.

  
He should have been studying, the books were open on his desk, highlighters and notes ready; but then he had looked at Theo to ask him something, and he just stopped and kept staring at him. He didn't even remember what he had wanted to ask him in the first place, he was so lost staring at him, observing the way he was so relaxed, the way he moved his head and drummed his fingers in time with the music he was listening to, sometimes humming the words he knew, the way he was so focused on whatever he was doing with his phone; the way everything about him - his posture, his smell, his heartbeat - showed that he felt comfortable, that he felt so safe in that house that he could allow himself to let his guard down.

  
"Stop looking at me and go back to study".

  
Liam was so lost in his own thought that Theo's voice made him jolt. The chimera hadn't even raised his eyes, still focused on whatever he was doing.

  
"Eh? I wasn't looking at you!", lied Liam. You didn't need supernatural senses to understand immediately that it was a horrible and shameless lie. Liam felt himself blushing. Theo raised his eyes upon him, one eyebrow arched and his expression skeptic.

  
"Yeah, sure. Then what were you doing?"

  
"I was thinking". Which wasn't a lie, but Theo didn't need to know about what exactly Liam was thinking. "And i was staring into space, you were just there".

  
Theo looked at him with an unimpressed face, clearly not convinced. It was in moments like that that Liam realized that it wasn't possible that Theo didn't know about his feelings for him; and, even though he knew, he never did anything about it. It was in moments like that that Liam realized that his feelings were one-sided, and he found himself hating Theo and hating himself and his inability of getting over it. He grew used to it, though, he had accepted the fact that Theo and he would always be just friends and, after all this time, the thought didn't hurt so bad. No, Liam had learned to ignore the sinking feeling he felt in his stomach when he thought about it, he had learned to enjoy what he had, the strong friendship that he couldn't ever have imagined, and he was satisfied of just spending his time looking at Theo, being close to him, getting to know him better every day. Liam had learned to be happy of falling in love with him a little more every day.

  
"You're doing it again".

  
"Well, I was thinking again".

  
"About what, exactly?"

  
"About the fact that I hate biology and that I don't want to study it", Liam snorted. Again it wasn't really a lie, but Theo didn't need to know that it was an out of context truth.

  
Theo rolled his eyes and gave him one of those looks that made Liam want to punch him and then drew him in and kiss him until both of them were breathless. It was an impulse that he felt way too often when he was with Theo.

  
"Fine", said Theo at last. "Then stop thinking and go back to study".

  
"But I just told you I don't want to", grumbled Liam and he snorted again. Theo gave him that look, but it was obvious that he was trying to hold back a smile.

  
"Stop complaining", he said, finally letting his lips tilting upward. And at that single little smile Liam felt himself getting lost even more in the huge turmoil that were his feelings for Theo. "I have a surprise for you, if you go back to study".

  
Those words really caught Liam's attention. "What surprise?"

  
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?", Theo said, a sarcastic smile on his lips and his tone teasing.

  
"I don't like surprises".

  
"And i don't like to spoil them".

  
"Come on, Theo", Liam said. "Please?"

  
Theo put away his earphones and phone and pulled himself up, leaning in his elbows and fixing his eyes in Liam's. "Don't look at me like that, you know your puppy eyes don't work in me", he retorted.

  
"My puppy eyes work on everyone", said Liam, while he approached the bed and sat beside Theo. "I promise that if you tell me, then I'll go back to study".

  
It was true that Liam didn't like surprises at all - he had had enough of them in his life, and most of them hadn't been pleasant - but what really intrigued him was the fact that it was Theo that had a surprise for him, and Liam couldn't even begin to imagine what it could be.

  
"Fine", granted Theo at last, "but only because so you will stop annoying me".

  
"I may be annoying, but you still have a surprise for me", pointed out Liam.

  
"I never said it was a nice surprise".

  
"It was pretty obvious", replied Liam, and his curiosity was growing stronger every second. "So, what is it?"

  
Theo averted his eyes from Liam's. He didn't look so certain anymore, rather he looked like he was regretting to have brought the topic up. That attitude didn't do anything but feed Liam's biting curiosity, but even though the need to know was eating him, he waited patiently a few long seconds, until Theo didn't looked at him again and started to speak.

  
"There's an exhibit of Greek and Roman history at Devenford's archaeological Museum", he said, his former attitude completely gone. "Since you're such an history nerd, i thought that maybe we could go tomorrow".

  
Liam stopped, suddenly unable to do anything that wasn't thinking about the fact that Theo, _Theo_ , had just invited him to go to a museum. Because Ii was a thing spending hours talking about history and listening to Liam talking passionately about stuff that Theo probably didn't even know, but it was a completely different thing to invite him to go to an exhibit of Greek and Roman history, knowing that it was the best way to reach Liam's heart. Not that Theo didn't already reached it, obviously, but that wasn't the point. Because the way Theo had talked, the way he had acted, with the slight doubt in his voice, it had felt so much like the way you ask someone out that Liam was completely taken aback.

  
_Calm down, Liam, of course he didn't mean it like that_ , he told himself, and his stomach tied in a painful grip.

  
"...if you want?", asked Theo, and there was still that uncertainty in his voice and in his look. God, Liam just wanted to hug him, kiss him, until both of them forgot everything else.

  
Liam tried to send these thoughts away, but with little success.

  
"Theo, we're talking about going to a museum and being surrounded by ancient history for hours, how could I ever say no?", he said, and there was a big smile on his lips.

  
Theo snorted. “Nerd”, he teased, and Liam punched him on the shoulder. But they were both smiling – and maybe Liam was also blushing, because seeing Theo like that always made him feel more emotions than he was able to bear.

  
God, could I be more in love with you?, he asked himself, but he already knew the answer to that question, because right in that moment, while his eyes were fixed in Theo's, while he looked at his little smile and the way it made his whole face light up, while he listened to his heart beating just a little faster than usual, while he stared at Theo and he found himself incapable of looking away, Liam felt that he was falling a little more in love with him.

  
“Now go back to study”, Theo reminded him. And even though Liam did roll his eyes, he did as he was told. Not even biology could make him stop smiling.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Liam was in a crisis. Not a crisis caused by a new supernatural menace that was about to kill him and all of his friends, but a crisis that was totally human and completely adolescent. And, obviously, since he was he best friend, Mason was just there laughing at him and giving little to none advice.

  
“I thought you said it wasn't a date”.

  
“And it isn't”, Liam said for the umpteenth time. “But that doesn't mean that I can't want to dress nicely”.

  
“Of course. But I don't remember you ever worrying about how to dress when you had to go out with me”.

  
Liam averted his eyes from his wardrobe and looked at Mason. “You never brought me to a museum”, he retorted, and just saying those words made him feel butterflies in his stomach.

  
“True”, granted Mason. “Also, you don't have a huge crush on me. Thankfully”, he added a moment later.

  
Liam was really starting to hate the way Mason pretended to agree with him and then went and hit his weaknesses.

  
“I don't have a crush on Theo”, Liam protested weakly, earning an unimpressed look as an answer.

  
“No, you're right”, said Mason, and Liam really felt himself losing patience. “You're totally in love with him. Hopelessly in love, I'd say".

  
Liam didn't have the strength to protest, both because he knew it wasn't going to help his case and because hearing someone else saying it made him feel weirdly warm and happy.

  
"Mason", he complained. "You're not helping".

  
Mason just stared at him for some moments, his mouth hanging open. It was the first time that Liam didn't deny his feelings for Theo; Mason probably thought that Liam was going to keep denying it to everyone - even himself - until Theo and him weren't in each other's arm. Mason probably thought that Liam was going to act exactly like he had done with Hayden. But it was different with Theo, everything was completely different. Different in a way that made Liam feel like he was falling in love for the very first time.

  
"Intense", murmured Mason, and Liam rolled his eyes, asking himself why did he ever thought that calling his friend there was a good idea.

  
"Mason, I asked you to come here so that you could help me, not laugh at me", he pointed out. "And not so that you could just stay there and talk to your boyfriend on the phone", he added, noticing that Mason was busy texting.

  
"Sorry, man, Corey is in a situation similar to mine", said Mason, and he looked anything but sorry, but at least he put the phone in his pocket and brought his attention back to Liam.

  
"Eh?"

  
"Nothing, never mind! Let's find something that you can wear on your not-date. Even though, let me tell you, I think you could just go in you lacrosse uniform and Theo would be happy anyway".

  
"What do you mean?", asked Liam, confused.

  
"Nothing, nothing". Mason waved a hand in the air like it wasn't anything important. "You will find out soon enough", he said, and suddenly Liam was reminded that in only a few hours he and Theo would go to a museum to see an exhibit of Greek and Roman history, and every other thought was forgotten. His heart started beating faster, and if there had been another werewolf in the room it would have surely been able to smell his anxiety and his excitement.

  
It wasn't a date, he kept reminding himself. But, damn, how he wished it was.

 

~ ~ ~

 

In the end, Mason was no help at all, and Liam ended up wearing his usual clothes, absolutely not suited for his not-date with Theo.

  
He couldn't tell why he was so anxious about it. Rationally speaking, there really was no reason for him to feel that way; Theo and him spent most of their time with each other, and of course it wasn't the first time they went out together -as friends, always ad friends. And yet Liam couldn't make the feeling that this time there was something different go away, and every time he stopped and thought about it his heart started beating faster, so much that it probably wouldn't have been necessary a supernatural hearing to hear it.

  
Maybe it was because no one of his friends had ever indulged to this point his love for history; not even Hayden that usually, when he started talking about it, just looked at him fondly and then made him shut up with a kiss.

  
But Theo, Theo had been the first one to really listen to him, the first one not only to indulge him but to also share Liam's passion, he had been the first one ready to do something that he knew would have made Liam incredibly happy.

  
_It's the little things that make you fall in love_.

  
Liam thought about that sentence again when he laid eyes on Theo, who was writing for him outside his room. He too, just like Liam, was wearing completely usual clothes, but Liam still found himself unable to look away from him for several seconds. The truth was that it wasn't really important what Theo was wearing, because Liam always reacted the same way every time he looked at him, his heart skipped a beat and a myriad of confused and pleasant sensations overwhelmed him. Because it had nothing to do with the clothes - even though, Liam had to admit, Theo looked good in anything - but it was Theo, only Theo, that caught Liam's eyes and then refused to let them go.

  
"You ready?", Theo asked him, distracting him from his thoughts, and smirked at him in a way that made Liam's heart do a backflip. It was impossible that Theo had never noticed all the crazy acrobatics that Liam's heart enjoyed doing when they were together.

  
"Hm", said Liam, cleverly, then shook his head to try and come to his senses. He nodded. "I'm ready", he answered, and he couldn't fight off nor the butterflies that invaded his stomach nor the spontaneous smile that grew on his lips despite his anxiety.

 

  
The trip to the museum wasn't very long, but it was long enough that Liam could calm himself down and, at the same time, become even more excited. Because, despite the feelings Liam had for him, being with Theo, speaking with him, joking and arguing with him, was always easy, natural; it was like Liam could really be himself with him, without worrying about anything else. And Liam knew that Theo felt the same way, you only needed to pay attention to notice how differently he acted when he was alone with Liam and when he was with someone else from the pack. Liam knew that there were sides of Theo that only he was allowed to see, no one else.

  
Gradually, Liam's anxiety was replaced with the excitement of going to the museum, of being surrounded for hours by ancient history, and being able to talk and discussing about one of his greatest passions with the boy he was in love with.

  
It was moments like that that made Liam think that it had all been worth it, all the supernatural dangers they had had to face, all the menaces and the fears had been worth it, if it meant that now he was allowed to live a day like that.

  
"What's up with you?", Theo asked him suddenly. The radio was on and the music filled the little space inside the car. Liam had learned that Theo loved music, and that he never drove with the radio off; Liam loved looking at him when he got carried away and started singing, and he loved joining him, letting is voice join Theo's in a sound that wasn't exactly in tune but that surely was freeing and funny. The smile on his lips grew bigger while he looked at Theo swinging his head in time with the music, drumming his fingers on the wheel.

  
The chimera was throwing glances at Liam, frowning like there was something that left him incredibly perplexed.

  
"Nothing", Liam answered. "Why?"

  
"Your chemosignals", said Theo. "They're confused, they keep changing every moment".

  
"You know it's rude to smell people, right? If you want to know how i feel you can just ask me", Liam told him, a perplexed frown on his face.

  
"And you know i can't just stop breathing, right?", the chimera echoed him. "I can smell it even if I'm not trying to".

  
"Besides", he added after a moment, "I just asked you, but you still didn't answer me". 

Andhe shoot his usual smirk at Liam, the one that made Liam want to punch him and then kiss him with just as much strength.

  
Several seconds of silence went by, and both of them probably thought that the conversation was over, but then Liam found himself speaking and answering Theo's question, without even realizing it. He didn't pay any attention to the fact that the car had stopped and that there wasn't any music to fill the silence anymore, nor to the fact that they had finally arrived. He kept his eyes down, staring at his hands, while speaking.

  
"It's just weird", he said. "After everything we've been through, even though it's been months since the last time we had any problems, it's weird being able to live a day like this. I feel like some other new supernatural monster is going to come out of nowhere any moment, and then we will have to fight to save our lives all over again". He stopped, trying to find the right words. He had never talked about this with anyone; he himself hadn't even realized he was thinking about it until Theo hadn't asked him. He could feel Theo's gaze on himself, but he didn't raise his eyes to meet his.

  
"I have to remind myself that I am safe, that I'm allowed to lower my guard, that the chance to live a day like this is exactly what we have fought for. And this makes me think that it was worth it”, he said. "It was worth it to face everything we had to face if it means that I can go and enjoy an exhibit in a museum without having to constantly look behind my back”.

  
He finally raised his eyes on Theo and found that the chimera was already looking at him. Liam felt himself being pervaded by a warm and pleasant feeling, and his heart stopped beating for several moments when he noticed the softness in Theo's face; his eyes and his smile were so fond, and knowing that they were just for him made Liam feel like someone just took away the ground underneath his feet.

  
"You know", Theo said After what had felt like hours spent drowning in each other's eyes. His voice was hoarse like it had been a long time since the last time he had spoken. Liam felt a shiver running down his spine. "Given the way I grew up, to me it's always been more normal having to constantly be alert and fight to survive. This new life - it still doesn't feel real to me, let alone feeling normal".

  
There was a long moment of silence, and Liam desperately tried to find something to say, something to remind Theo that yes, that life was real and he deserved it.

  
Theo started talking again before Liam could find the right words. "But even though this is not the normality I'm used to, I know now that I'm ready to fight possible new menaces to protect it".

  
Theo had maintained eye contact with Liam until that moment, but when he finished talking he drew his eyes away, looking out of the window. It was rare for Theo to open up like that, even with Liam; it was always like he was afraid of saying too much, of confessing too much and ending up compromising himself. Listening to him talking like that, listening to him saying that he was willing to fight to defend that life, that normality that they had so sorely earned, made Liam feel more secure. Because even though, rationally, he knew that Theo was there to stay, that he would have never just go away leaving Liam on his own, even though Liam knew all this, hearing Theo say that that was the life he wanted, soothed doubts and fears that Liam didn't even know he had.

  
“And I will fight with you”, Liam told him after a while, breaking the tense silence that had fallen on them. Theo looked back at him, and Liam knew that he too was thinking about that time in the hospital against the hunters, when Liam had told him words so similar to these.

 

“So, how about we go?”. This time it was Theo who broke the silence that had fallen after their conversation. Liam realized only then, when he looked out of the window and saw the big building before him, that they had arrived, and he felt the excitement that he had almost forgotten coming back again. A big smile grew on his lips and, without waiting another moment, he got out of the car.

  
It wasn't the first time Liam went to a museum, obviously; with the school, with his parents, sometimes even with Mason, he already went there multiple times. But it was the very first time he went to see an exhibit about the part of history he loved most and, most of all, it was the very first time he went there with Theo.

  
He remembered the first time he ever went to a museum – exactly the one he was going to now; he was with his parents, and he got bored even before going in. In the end, he spent most of the time they were there complaining and running around the rooms trying to have fun on his own. That one had been the day that Liam's parents realized that bringing a kid to a museum wasn't really a great idea.

  
When Liam told him that story, Theo laughed.

  
“How things have changed”, he said. “You went from being a little scamp to being a little history nerd”.

  
“I'm not little”, Liam answered back.

  
“Sure you are, puppy”, Theo teased him, stressing a lot that last words and making Liam stop breathing for a second. “And, anyway, you are a history nerd”.

  
“You decided to bring me to a museum, Theo, you condemned yourself to spend hours with me talking only about history”, Liam pointed out, trying to ignore the way his stomach had tied in knots when Theo had called him “puppy”.

  
“I don't mind”, the chimera answered, and Liam was surprised of the sincerity in his voice. “I already told you that I'm impressed when you show me that you know stuff”.

  
With a smirk in Liam's direction, Theo started walking towards the first room, leaving behind Liam, unable to answer. Because, even though it had sounded like Theo was just teasing him, Liam knew that he had been honest when he had said that Liam impressed him. When he had told him that the first time, when they were at the abandoned zoo, Liam hadn't paid much attention to it, he hadn't even thought that Theo was serious; but now, those words made him blushing and feeling weirdly satisfied and content.

  
It's not a date, he reminded himself for the umpteenth time, while he hurried to follow Theo.

 

~~~

 

If there was something Liam really loved, it was completely losing himself in something, losing himself to the point of forgetting the rest of the world, to the point of not noticing the passing of time. He had felt that way while playing lacrosse, he lost himself in the game, in the competition and the want of winning, and he forgot everything else that was outside the playing field.

  
But, since he had become a werewolf, he couldn't do that anymore; he couldn't allow himself to do that, because losing himself in the game meant loosen the control over his wolf, it meant risk losing control, it meant the possibility of hurting someone. Now, even during a game, Liam had to be self-aware, he couldn't just lose himself and forget about everything else.

  
Now, the only thing in which Liam could really lose himself was history, the memory of the past that allowed him to forget the present. He read a book or an article or watched a documentary, and felt himself being transported to the past, in a way that taught him to live in the present. History was one of the few things that still allowed him to lose himself and let himself go.

  
The only other thing in which Liam could lose himself, was Theo. Liam knew he sounded incredibly corny when he thought stuff like that, but he couldn't help himself. Being with Theo made him forget the rest of the world in a way that was totally different from haw he had felt with Hayden. With Hayden, at first, it had been like everything else, every other person that wasn't her, didn't matter anymore, and Liam had collided violently with the consequences of this. With Hayden, Liam had ignored the rest of the world because he was convinced that the only important thing was that they could be together, because he feared that the outside world could come between them.

  
No, being with Theo didn't make him ignore everything else, didn't make him put aside his responsibilities, nor made him forget the rest of his friends; with Theo, it was like Liam could be calm, because he knew that he could allow himself to stay in the little world he shared with the chimera, and he knew that even when they would come back to the real world, Theo would still be by his side.

  
Right then, being absorbed at the same time both in history and in Theo's company, really made Liam feel like time didn't matter anymore. They could have been in the museum for hours – and they probably were – but Liam didn't really care.

  
He knew that maybe he was getting carried away a little too much, and that he probably hadn't stopped talking since they had arrived, but he couldn't help himself. He was happy, really happy. It was possible that the thing that made him most happy was the fact that Theo was by his side, that he kept listening to him and that it didn't seem like he was getting bored.

  
“Are you having fun?”, Liam asked him, when they were walking by some statues of deities and emperors.

  
“Revisiting the whole ancient history with you?”, Theo said, and surprisingly, there was no trace of sarcasm in his words. “Yes, Liam, I'm having fun”.

  
Liam had to look away, because if he'd tried to hold Theo's honest eyes, he would have ended up doing something really stupid, like kiss him until both of them didn't forget even their names.

  
They stopped in front of a statue of Athena, and Liam tried to concentrate on it, he tried not to think about the way Theo was looking at him, so open and genuine. He couldn't really stop thinking about it, but he still started to talk, saying everything that came to his mind about the goddess and what she represented and, in the end, he was able to lose himself in his own words.

  
When he stopped and looked back at Theo, he met his eyes, fixed on him.

  
“You're not even looking, Theo”, he pointed out, both in the attempt of ignoring the tension that he was feeling growing in himself under that stare, and both because it really seemed that Theo hadn't even glanced at what was was around them.

  
“Why look at these statues when the real work of art is right in front of me?”, Theo told him, winking at him.

  
“Please tell me you didn't really just said that”, Liam said after several moments of silence, his eyes fixed in Theo's, while he was desperately trying to hold back his laughter. When all Theo did was to hold his stare, his face serious and just a little pink on his cheeks, Liam couldn't stop himself and started laughing.

  
“I can't believe you really used a line like that”, he said between the laughs.

  
“And I can't believe that this is you reaction to me trying to flirt with you”, Theo said, and it was obvious from the tone of his voice, that he himself was trying hard not to start laughing along with Liam.

  
“It's not my fault you can't flirt, Theo”.

  
“We're in a museum, Liam, mine was the best way to flirt”, the chimera shot back, and this time he couldn't hold back the laugh.

  
“Oh my god, I can't believe I'm really in love with you!”

  
Only when Theo stood silent and Liam met his eyes, wide ope and surprised, he realized exactly what he had just said.

  
“What did you say?”

  
“What? Nothing, I didn't say anything”. A lie, a bad and useless lie. But it was easier pretending nothing had happened and go back to look at the statues, than admit that he had just confessed his feelings in the worst way possible. Perhaps Theo would have mercy, he would accept that stupid lie and Liam and he would just go back to enjoy the exhibit.

  
But, obviously, it couldn't be that easy.

  
Theo grabbed his arm, tightening his hand around his wrist, like he was afraid that Liam could decide that the best thing to do right then was to run away from him.

  
“Liam”.

  
And Liam couldn't resist to the sound of Theo's voice, he looked back at him and met his eyes. It really was like suddenly time had just stopped running, like the world outside the two of them had stopped existing. Even in that moment, unable to breath and with his heart thumping, Liam couldn't not stare at Theo, completely losing himself in what he felt for him, noticing every little thing about him, all those little things that had made him fall for him.

  
Theo's heart was beating strong and fast, too, almost like Liam's, and the air around them smelled of confused feeling – Liam's, mixed with Theo's that were maybe even more confused. It was probably those smells and the sound of Theo's heart that made Liam shake out of the trance the were in.

  
“You were flirting with me”, he said after he couldn't tell how much time, and he himself was surprised to hear his own voice. It was like only in the moment when he started talking and asked the question, only then he realized he was doing it. “Why were you flirting with me?”

  
There was a tiny little hope that was growing bigger inside him, that was trying to send away all the thoughts that Liam had had until that moment, the thoughts that Liam had gotten used to, the thoughts than never grew tired of telling him that Theo could never reciprocate his feelings. That hope was becoming stronger every moment that went by, every second more that Theo didn't answer, every second more that their eyes were fixed in each other, every second more in which Liam could see the blushing on Theo's cheeks widening and hear his heart beating at the same fast rhythm of his own.

  
Theo still hadn't let him go, his hand was still tight around Liam's wrist, in a hold that was strong and delicate at the same time. The moment when Liam tried to free himself, the hold weakened and Theo's heart skipped a beat, and Liam could see, in the span of short seconds, Theo's face change from being confused and embarrassed to being sorry and hurt. But the chimera didn't have any time to do anything because, after a moment, Liam's hand tighten around his, linking their fingers together. This time, Liam read surprise and pleasure in the tiny smile that grew on Theo's lips.

  
There was something incredibly reassuring about holding Theo's hand, Liam thought. Like being anchored and having your head in the clouds at the same time.

  
“Why were you flirting with me, Theo?”, Liam asked again, his eyes still fixed in Theo's. A smile was growing on his lips; because that hope had become bigger, and in the moment he had taken Theo's hands in his and had felt Theo return the squeeze, in that moment Liam had realized that he never wanted to let go.

  
“Why did you say you're in love with me, Liam?”, Theo asked back, the smile on his lips mirroring Liam's.

  
Thinking to himself that he was in love with Theo always made Liam feel like he was lost in his own little world; hearing Mason say it, that morning, had made him feel like those feelings were suddenly even more real and had left him with a warm and pleasant sensation. But, god, hearing Theo say it was more than Liam could bear. Because those words came with a silly beautiful smile and with Theo's eyes that still refused to let Liam's go, and with their heart beating at the same crazy and fast rhythm.

  
But still, there was a little uncertainty in Theo's eyes, and that was what gave Liam the courage to answer.

  
“Because it's the truth”.

  
Liam had imagined a lot of times hypothetical scenarios where he confessed his feelings to Theo, but he never thought he would really do it. Too many risks, too many uncertainties, too much to lose in case of a rejection. Right then, he couldn't think of anyone of those doubts that had become for him so familiar. Theo was right in front of him, his eyes wide open for the surprise, his lips parted and curved in a little smile, his fingers linked with Liam's.

  
There was embarrassment in the air around them, so much awkwardness and tension that a wolf could have probably smelled it from kilometers away. Theo was the first to break eye contact, and Liam couldn't help but feel proud of himself for being the reason for his nervousness.

  
“People are looking at us”, Theo said, suddenly, and Liam looked around them. There were a lot of curious people in the room, some were glancing at them other were just openly looking at them, without even trying to be discrete.

  
Liam snorted, annoyed. “How about we go away?”

  
“I think that's a great idea”.

  
Indeed, the only thing Liam could think of in that moment was that he absolutely wanted to be alone with Theo.

  
The way out of the museum felt longer than it was before, but his hand was still holding Theo's, and the warmth of that touch was the only thing that was preventing him from losing his mind.

  
It felt like it had been hours when they finally arrived in front of Theo's truck.

  
None of them moved for several moments, like both of them were waiting to see what the other would do. In the end, it was Liam that found the courage to break that standstill and he let go of Theo's hand. In the moment he did that, though, he missed the contact.

  
Still, when they were both sit in the car, he couldn't find the courage to stretch out his arm and take Theo's hand again. It was like whatever spell there had been on them just minutes before, now was broken, leaving Liam completely at the mercy of those doubts and fears that just before had felt so far.

That immobility would soon drive him mad. He felt the anxiety and the fear he felt going to feed his nerves, making him angry. It was easier to get angry, much more easy than accepting the possibility of having misinterpreted the whole situation, much more easy than taking into account that possibility that made him feel so damn stupid.

  
“Could you please say something?”, he snapped, and the sharp tone of his voice immediately captured Theo's attention, who until then had kept his eyes down, refusing to meet Liam's gaze.

  
Liam was slowly realizing that he had actually just told Theo that he was in love with him, and the terror and embarrassment and the rage for Theo's silence would soon make him explode.

  
But in a moment, Theo's lips were on his, and Liam forgot about everything else, every doubt and every fear. Theo was kissing him, and Liam couldn't believe it. Maybe he was dreaming, One of those dreams that came to him even too often and that left him frustrated and in the grip of a desire for something he was sure he couldn't have. But in his dreams there never was that tangible embarrassment between them, they weren't surrounded by tension and unspoken words; in his dreams, Theo's lips weren't so soft and his touch wasn't so warm. In his dreams there weren't so many words hidden in a gentle and chaste kiss. No, that was the reality, and that kiss was the answer Liam was looking for, it was what Theo couldn't tell him with words.

  
It only lasted a few short seconds, but even when they pulled away from each other, they stayed close, breathing the same air.

  
"I wanted to ask you out", Theo said, breaking the silence.

  
Liam could feel his warm breath against his lips. He didn't think his heart could beat faster than it already was, but obviously he was wrong. It took him several moments to understand those words.

  
"Then why didn't you do it?", he asked, confused.

  
"You could have said no".

  
Liam stopped. "What?", he said, and he suddenly felt very stupid. "I thought you knew".

  
"What?"

  
"How I feel about you", Liam told him. He wanted to look away from Theo's piercing eyes, but it wasn't easy, not when they were still so close.

  
"Why should have I known? It's not like you ever told me, until today".

  
"Because it was obvious!", Liam shot back, frustrated.

  
"No it wasn't, or I would have noticed", Theo said, like it was obvious. And maybe it really was, but Liam had spent months believing that Theo knew about his feelings for him and now, finding out that it wasn't true made him feel pretty stupid.

  
During their little bickering, they had moved away from each other; far enough that Liam couldn't feel Theo's breath on his face anymore, but close enough that it wouldn't take much to eliminate the distance between them.

  
“I would have said yes”, Liam said after a while. “If you'd have asked me out. I would have said yes”.

  
At those words, Theo's little smirk became a real happy smile, and Liam felt himself melting, again at the mercy of all those emotions, so many that he couldn't even put a name to them.

  
“Next time”, Theo said.

  
This time, it was Liam that kissed him. He was suddenly realizing that he could do it, that Theo felt the same way about him, and now the distance between them seemed way too much.

  
With that kiss, Liam felt that he was falling in love with Theo all over again; every breath and every touch was making him feel even more lost in the feelings he had for him. The pressure of Theo's lips moving against his own, the feelings of his hair between his fingers, the warmth of his hands on his face; all those little things that Liam never thought he would know, and that now he was finally allowed to learn. All those little things were making him falling in love with Theo a little more every second that went by.

  
And maybe Theo hadn't answered him with words, he hadn't admitted with words that he felt the same way about Liam, but the chimera was putting everything he couldn't say in that kiss, in the way he was trying to bring Liam even closer to him, like he wanted to eliminate even the air between them, in the way he touched him, like his whole life depended on that contact.

  
Sooner or later, Theo would find the words too but, until then, Liam was going to be satisfied with reading what Theo wanted to tell him in his actions, in the little things.

 

~~~

 

The trip back was at the same time one of the weirdest and one of the most natural thing Liam had ever experienced. Natural, because everything with Theo felt like that. Even when they had to cooperate against the Ghost Riders, even when they had fought together for the first time; it had felt natural, like they were used to do it. Even their stupid bickering and the way they always teased each other; everything was so incredibly natural between them that sometimes Liam thought that he and Theo had already known each other in a past life.

  
And, just like everything else, the way they had kept kissing again and again, parting just to unite again a moment later, even in that there had been a sense of familiarity that had made Liam feel like it wasn't the first time they did it, like Theo and him were always destined to reach that point in their relationship.

  
Their hands felt like they had been made to hold each other, their heart made to beat together.

  
But it was weird, too, because, as much as it felt natural, Liam couldn't shake off the annoying fear that any moment all of that would turn out to be nothing but a dream, and he would wake up and would be forced to move with the feeling of having lost something he never really had in the first place.

  
The sound of a phone ringing brought him back to the reality, just in time to see Theo parking in front of the house. They got out of the car and started walking down the driveway.

  
“Who's that?”, asked Liam, when Theo snorted amused while reading the text he had just received.

  
“Corey”, he said. “He wants to know how our not-date is going”.

  
Liam stopped in front of the door, looking at Theo.

  
“Wait... you asked Corey for advice because you had to go out with me?”. He didn't even try to hide the smile that grew on his lips.

  
“No”, Theo said, avoiding Liam's gaze and going inside. Liam followed him, closing the door behind him.

  
“Yes, you did”, he said.

  
Liam felt his smile getting bigger while he watched the obvious embarrassment on Theo's face.

  
“Okay, maybe I did”, said Theo finally. “But I bet that you ran to Mason for help, so we're even”.

  
Liam just shrugged. It was easy to ignore his ow embarrassment when he knew that Theo was feeling the same way.

  
The chimera came closer to him, bringing his arms around his waist, and Liam immediately felt himself melting in the hold. He didn't think he could ever get used to the sensations that having Theo so close to him mad him feel; but, truth was that he didn't want to get used to it, he wanted to keep feeling the butterflies in his stomach when they were this close, he wanted to keep feeling the electricity every time Theo touched him.

  
“Be honest, Liam”, Theo said. “You were so anxious of going out with me that you went to Mason even for advice of what to wear”.

  
The annoyance and the embarrassment joined the sentimental thoughts he was having a second before, and Liam tried to get away from Theo, but the chimera just tightened his grip, bringing him even close. His usual smirk was back in place, and Liam wanted nothing more than to delete it.

Suddenly, he realized that he could do exactly what he had wanted to do for months. He closed the distance between them, pushing his lips against Theo's, with so much force that the chimera stumbled back.

  
“Were you trying to kiss me or to hit me?”, Theo asked him, when they separated. The teasing tone in his voice was definitely ruined by his pink cheeks and the way he was breathing hard.

  
“Both?”, Liam said, and it came out more like a question than an answer. He shrugged. “I was just trying to make you shut up”.

  
Theo hid his face against Liam's shoulder and laughed, a real and genuine laugh, and the sound filled the quite of the house. Liam would never grow tired of listening to Theo laughing, it was one of the infinitely many little things that always made him fall in love with him. But, right then, he really just wanted to know the reason behind that laugh. And, like he had just read his mind, Theo calmed down, and after a moment he murmured against Liam's neck.

  
“I think it can work”.

  
“Eh? What are you talking about?”

  
Theo raised his head and met Liam's eyes. “This. You and me. _Us_ ”, he said in a whisper. That last short word seemed to held more meanings than Liam could catch, but just the way Theo had said it made him shiver out of pleasure. _Us_.

  
His hands, that during the kiss had find their way on Theo's shoulders, now went to his face and in his hairs. Liam felt himself melting, at the complete mercy of his emotions, when Theo closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.

  
“Did you doubt it?”

  
“You didn't?”

  
Liam thought about it for several seconds. “No”, he answered, finally. “I didn't doubt that it could work. I just... I didn't think you wanted it”. He added the last part in a whisper, like he was afraid that if Theo heard it he would change his mind.

  
“I thought it was obvious”, Theo told him, echoing the words that Liam had said to him before.

  
“Well, it wasn't”, Liam said. He drew closer, stopping just a breath away from Theo. “But, now that I know... I know that it can work”. And he kissed him again, this time calm and passionate.

  
They kissed for a time that felt infinite, refusing to let go of that contact that they had wanted for so long. Liam didn't think he could ever grow tired of kissing Theo.

  
They only pulled away when the need to breath became too much, but they stayed there clinging to each other, their foreheads pressed together, their labored breaths mixing in the little space separating their lips.

  
Liam breathed in, inhaling their smells mixed together.

  
It still felt so weird, the fact that he could be this close to Theo, the fact that he was allowed to touch him, that Theo wanted him just as much as Liam wanted him. Theo was probably right, and it really had been obvious all along, but Liam had been so closed in himself and his own feelings and in the thought that they were one-sided, that he couldn't see what was right in front of his eyes. He had been so focused on the little things that he had forgotten to look at the bigger picture. That thought made him snort, amused at himself.

  
“You know”, he said, “they say it's the little things that make you fall in love”.

  
Theo looked at him frowning, his face showing confusion. He seemed to think about it for several seconds, his eyes still fixed in Liam's. “Maybe”, he said. “Why were you thinking about it?”

  
“It's just something I found myself thinking about a lot, lately. But, after all, I don't think it really matters”, Liam said. He closed his eyes for a moment, losing himself in the feeling of having Theo pressed close to him; his smell filled his senses, making him feel intoxicated in the best way possible. He ran his hand through his hair, and with the hands that still were on Liam's waist, Theo brought him even closer.

  
“No?”

  
“No”, Liam said, sure of himself.

  
At first, he had preferred focusing on the little things because looking at the whole picture left him confused and full of doubts. It wasn't like that anymore; now, even when Liam did that, the only thing he saw was Theo, not the enemy and not unexpected ally, but just Theo. “Even if you start with the little things, you end up falling in love with everything else, too”.

  
Theo looked at him confused for several seconds. They were so close that Liam could see the exact moment when Theo realized the meaning of those words.

  
“You're so cheesy”, Theo said, rolling his eyes. But his cheeks were a little pink and his heart and his breath had stopped for a second.

  
“You like it”, Liam said back.

  
Despite everything that had happened between them, he wasn't expecting Theo's answer. “Yes”, he said, his eyes in Liam's, a fond look that was just for him. “I really do like it”.

 

~ ~ ~

 

That night, when they were on the bed, tangled in each other like they were afraid to let go, Liam suddenly remembered something.

  
“Ehi, you know what? We didn't finish visiting the museum”.

  
“We'll just go there again”, Theo answered, shrugging.

  
“Are you asking me out, Theo?”

  
Theo looked at him with serious eyes before answering. “Yes, Liam. What do you say, do you want to go out with me?"

  
“I thought you'd never ask”, Liam said, and when he kissed Theo, they were both smiling.

 


End file.
